Opaque Date
by Syncronis
Summary: A co-op story with KeyLimePie14. Chapter 1:When Melanie unexpectedly asks Freddie out on a date, its up to Sam to save her name and cover up her sister's plans with one of her own. But is it all just a cover-up, or is some part of her in this for herself?


_**Opaque Date**_

A co-op story by KeyLimePie14 & Syncronis

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A Word or Two from the Authors

_What goes on peoples?! KeyLimePie14 here, hoping you've been good since the last time I've seen you. (Even though I can't really see you...) XD But that's a different matter entirely. One that maybe we should take up with the creaters of the Internet... Whoever THOSE people may be. *chuckles*_

_No, I kid, I kid! I shall get straight to the point now: I'm back! And with my first EVER co-op story! XD And I don't think I could've gotten a better author to choose ME to write with... But that's the beauty of it; our writing styles are very similar, and we tend to get (playfully) competitive during our writing sessions. And I hope the rest of this story will go as smoothly as the first chapter did..._

_So, please, silence your cell phones now (because one text or call can ruin the feature for others), get yourself some popcorn, a friend or two... (maybe a 'special' friend?) I don't know, but sit back and enjoy!_

_Lates bates, KeyLimePie14! XD_

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_Ahhh, good day, my fine readers. I didn't see you there. On the other side of the internet. It's kind of hard to see over there when you've got so much dust on your screen._

_But I'm digressing. It's been a good while since I did another co-op, even more so than a regular one. So I got to mumbling to myself bemusedly, and figured that it was time to jump into another field. Into the world of Dan Schneider's iCarly._

_And so I read up and watched episodes and searched around until I could find an author of comparable expertise and ability who I could work alongside. And I found the author you've had the pleasure of meeting earlier. A bit shy and humble than your usual author, but that just adds more of a fine quality to her ability. It was actually quite amusing to toss scenes between each other, having one event rile the other author into an even stronger scene._

_I'm really hoping you'll like this first chapter, it's got what I feel is a good amount of Schneider's humor and taste, as well as our personal touches and of course, the down-to-earth feel that makes iCarly what it is that you know and love. Peace out and enjoy the show!_

_-Syncronis Armani_

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**Chapter One: Life Loves To Throw Him Curveballs In The Shape Of Teenage Blondes**

Freddie Bensen knew that he was many things, both to himself and others around him. He was a good friend, a brilliant computer tech, and a bit of a mama's boy. He may have been a bit high strung at times, but he knew that it was because he tried to do the right thing more than often. But if there was one thing he knew at the moment, it was that he was in incredible pain. All thanks to the teenage blonde nightmare currently keeping him in a headlock in the middle of the living room.

"Ah!" Freddie cried, his voice cracking at the sudden high pitch, "Sam, get off of me!" She didn't obey. Instead she tightened her grip and smirked devilishly into his face. "Not until you say it." She told him threateningly. Freddie shook his head. After all, he still had some dignity left to his character.

"No, Sam." He rasped out. The choke hold she had him in was beginning to hurt. He couldn't move his head left or right and he was positive he was going to suffer brain damage from the lack of oxygen.

"Come on, Freddork, you know I can keep this up all day!" He knew it all right, he remembered the one time she'd gotten riled up from watching a UFC marathon and decided to 'give the dork what-for'. He honestly didn't mind some of the close contact from her... up until she stopped holding back. It took Carly actually jumping into the mayhem to bring things back to some level of normalcy.

Freddie would never forget that experience, being tangled between both girls and not knowing up-from-down. But if it taught him one thing, it was that when Sam wanted something done, she was not to be trifled with. "All right, you win..." He tried to retain some of his dignity by keeping his voice firm, but it sadly came out even more strangled than if he'd been relaxed.

Sam leaned down closer to his mouth, not letting the grip down for a second. She had heard him; he knew she had. The rest of the room was deafeningly silent other than his raspy breathing and Sam's maniacal laughter that resonated off the walls whenever he would make a struggle to free himself. He sighed, and his body went slightly limp, signaling he was giving Sam her way.

"What did you say, Fredweird?" She whispered. Her face was close enough to his that he could feel her cool breath float across his face. It gave him chills. He looked away from her and stared at the ceiling. After taking a deep breath and saying good-bye to any proof that he was a man he had left he looked back at the blonde demon and spoke as clear as he could without hurting himself too much.

"I said, You. Win." He repeated himself, this time pausing between words to make sure they were crystal clear. Apparently they had satisfied her, as she loosened her grip on his neck and smirked cockily to herself.

"Atta boy," She praised him, rubbing his head like a dog, before letting go of him completely. Freddie groaned and fell to the floor in a heap.

It was this point Carly had decided her affairs upstairs were finished, bounding down the staircase while skipping steps at a time. Looking between the half-conscious Fredward and her smug best friend, the sigh she released was almost automatic. Sam looked from her victim to Carly, an eyebrow rising in the process. "What?"

The look Carly gave her was reprimand enough, causing the victorious grin on Sam's face to contort into a cross between a smirk and a frown. "He totally asked me to do it. For science or something like that. Totally believable, right?" The groan that Freddie's body emitted in response was enough to tell Carly otherwise, which more so resulted into a slight kick to his foot and another groan.

Sam!" Sadly, Carly's complaint went as barely noticed to her companion.

"What, this is good for him, it builds confidence. And his praise does wonders for me as well." Her arms crossed under her chest as she pondered a thought. "I wonder if he can do it in French... Let's find out!" A quick front step from Carly put a stop to Sam's experiment.

"Sam, don't you have anything better to do than pick on Freddie?" Carly risked a glance over at her male friend who was still lying on the floor. He groaned upon hearing his name, but he couldn't muster up enough strength, or self-confidence, to move. Carly sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked back over at the blonde. Sam's expression softened slightly as she caught sight of Freddie's defeated form.

"Well, my two o' clock appointment cancelled, so no. I don't have anything better to do." She replied cheekily, her grin resuming its position on her face when Freddie rolled over and sat up slightly. Carly rolled her eyes are her best friend, knowing that she would never get her to stop picking on Freddie no matter how hard she tried.

'_Oh well,'_ Carly thought as she saw Freddie sit up out of the corner of her eye. _'At least he's not too badly hurt.'_

You know, one of these days..." He started, stifling a groan. "You're going to get what's coming to you, mark my words." Sam walked past Carly and stopped in front of Freddie, just as he had finally gotten himself steady. Her fingers stretched outward and suddenly found themselves a home on his chest.

Smack dab in the center of his chest, Freddie couldn't help but be paralyzed by her actions, Sam's ring and middle finger pressing just enough into his skin to produce a reaction but not enough to cause general pain. She twisted them slightly, and the butterflies in his stomach decided to migrate to his heart and strangle it. Carly watched on in awe at her friend's new action, swearing that she could see teeth in her grin.

Carly wasn't even sure if it was worth losing breath over to chastise Sam this time. Sam was a temporary listener, thus meaning she would listen for as long as the moment called for, and then she would go right back to whatever she had been doing. Carly rolled her eyes as the two started arguing. "Must you constantly feel the need to touch me?" Freddie whined, trying to stand on his feet. Sam growled and pushed him back down.

"Must you constantly give me reasons to touch you?" She spouted back to his face. Freddie's mouth hung open and he slightly blushed, taking her comment the wrong way.

Sam soon realized her mistake in the choice of words, and began to stutter. A blush tinted her cheeks as well.

Unfortunately for Freddie, Sam's usual escape from embarassment was with violence, and with her fingers still planted on his chest, all it took was a simple upward flick to strike his nose. Carly sighed to herself as Fredward's painful cry brought a smirk back to Sam's face. "Anything else you wanna add, Frankendork?"

His head rolled around for a second as he rubbed his nose, trying to get the stinging sensation to disperse. "No, I think I'm good right now... Think I'll go upstairs and work on some stuff." It was a poor excuse to escape, but Sam apparently found it acceptable. "And make sure you look up that French!" She called after him as he slowly made his way up the stairs.

Sam smiled arrogantly to herself and swiveled around to go to the kitchen, shouting over her shoulder as she went, "Hey, Carls, got any ham?" She received no answer and upon further inspection of the space behind her she found her brunette friend had disappeared. The door to the apartment was swung wide open on its hinges and Sam could hear faint voices coming from the hallway.

Sam's curiosity overwhelmed her and she found herself walking through the living room and into the musty, dim hallway. She heard bits and pieces of a conversation and recognized one of the voices as Carly's. She turned the corner and was faced with Carly and her twin sister. They were standing in front of the staircase having a very animated conversation, their hands were flying every which way and they both had a huge grin on their face.

Not one to be left out of anything, Sam blatantly cleared her throat in an attempt to be noticed. Her attempt was successful; Carly pivoted on the heel of her foot and faced Sam. Melanie glanced over Carly's shoulder to take in the sight of her sister.

Probably sizing up how many things are wrong with my outfit, Sam thought snidely, for though they looked alike their dispositions contrasted severely. Melanie had always been the serious one, the precocious one… Melanie cared about her grades, and her clothes, and what other people thought of her. She was the ultimate girly girl, she always had a throng of male admirers following her; she was even favored over Sam by their own mother. She was like Carly in most ways, but unlike Carly, Sam and Melanie had never really bonded to the point of considering themselves 'close'.

Melanie had been offered a scholarship to a private boarding school in fourth grade, after one of her teachers submitted an essay Melanie had written to the private school in recommendation. Of course the dean at the school loved her essay and thought that she would fit in perfectly at the school. So, Sam and Melanie had never had the time to bond, as they had been separated from each other for as long as they cared to remember.

"Melanie... What're you doing out of school?" Her voice was practically dripping with distaste. "Shouldn't you be working on some sort of extra credit or something for your fancy-smancy classes?" Her counterpart simply took on a confused look as she replied.

"But its Friday night, Samantha. Can't I come by and hang out with my favorite sister and her best friends?"

Fortunately, the two girls couldn't hear Sam's earlier grumbling at Melanie's response, but could easily hear her firm response to the sister's question. "NO. Now what're you REALLY here for?"

Melanie's eyes rolled at the accusation and made a quick sigh. "So, I MAY have another reason for being here other than to see you... But that doesn't mean that we can't say hello and have a bit of girl talk."

"Oh wait, why yes, yes it does." The deadpan tone Sam belayed ground out all hopes of continuing the conversation in that direction. "And for the record, I'd rather grind my head into a brick wall than make 'girly talk'. Now out with it." Melanie's shoulders drooped in response, but quickly rose back up in order to regain composure.

"Very well then, this won't take but a second." She skipped around her alternate sibling and made her way into Carly's apartment, leaving the two to watch and speculate.

"What the heck's she got to do in there?" Sam spat out, giving Carly one of her 'talk or I'll make you talk' looks.

The brunette simply shrugged her shoulders. "Search me."

Sam rolled her eyes and groaned, knowing all too well what her twin was capable of. Most of it wasn't good either. Melanie was quite the meddler and could always find something to get into that she shouldn't be.

Sam motioned for Carly to follow her as she ran back into the apartment. There, they found Melanie and Freddie engaged in a battle. A battle of wits, that is. Freddie was red in the face and yelling full force at a shrunken, scared looking Melanie. Carly raised her eyebrows at Sam, who could only shrug and slightly smirk at the sight of Freddie thinking he was one-upping her.

"Sam! Do something!" Carly hissed, staring in shock as the vein in Freddie's neck got bigger with each insult he threw at who he believed to be Sam. Judging by the look on Melanie's face it looked like she was going to cry at any moment as well. Sam groaned, she really hated having to break up a fight as good as this one. It wasn't everyday she got to see her sister look so scared, nor did she get to see Freddie win.

It looked like Freddie was about to deliver the coup de' gras of insults and force Sam's hand to walk inside and stop him from crushing her sister's self-esteem (against her own will), before Melanie's hands shot up to stop his lips from moving. One hand came to cover his lips while the other rested along his shoulder, allowing her to lean on him and lower her head, catching both her breath and her senses. Freddie's look was one of confusion, which coincidentally mirrored both Sam and Carly's faces as well. What would happen next would stun Freddie, shock Carly, and scar Sam for life. Melanie kissed him; the way she shot her face upwards, moving her hand from his mouth in just the perfect way to capture his lips with hers so that he couldn't get a word out, was absolutely flawless.

Freddie's face was one of complete bewilderment, as he obviously didn't know whether to stop her or hold onto her. He eventually seemed to settle for neither one, staying frozen in his current awkward pose with a glassy look on his face. It was no surprise either, as Melanie's kiss was no normal one as well. You could tell there was some 'oomph' to it as well. After a minute of locking lips, she pulled his head down to whisper into his ear, her words staying private and aggravating both prying girls to no end. Taking Freddie's attempt at a nod as approval, she sashayed out the door, ignoring both the gaping voyers and heading towards the stairs.

Carly and Sam took a glance at each other before bounding in separate directions: Carly towards her apartment and Sam after her twin sister.

"What was that?" Sam bellowed after her sister who was only a few paces ahead on the stairs. Melanie paused a second and slightly jumped, letting out a small yelp as she was caught off guard. She turned around slowly, the smile on her face growing larger at the sight of her sister, out of breath and slightly rosy cheeked.

"What was what?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes. Sam grumbled under her breath and bounded down the few stairs that separated her and her sibling. She stalked up to her and poked her in the chest, hard.

"You kissing Benson like that. Do you even realize," She paused, poking her in the chest again for emphasis before continuing, "how long it will take me to weasel out of that one?!" Melanie smirked again; satisfied she was getting the reaction she had hoped for.

"You won't have to talk your way out of anything." She said solemnly. Sam scrunched her face up in confusion and let her finger drop to her side.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, still skeptical of her sister's plans.

"Well, I asked him out, silly." She raised an eyebrow at the stunned look Sam gave her. "Don't act so surprised, you saw how he reacted to me when I walked in. You haven't done anything to prove we're nothing alike." Sam kept her mouth shut at that, not wanting to admit that she, in fact, told Freddie that Melanie didn't exactly exist but as a prank. "Well, I'm going to fix all that. Tomorrow night, he's going to take me out on the town, and I'm going to show him just how much of a difference there is between you and I." She made a proclamation of her own, showing backbone for the second time that afternoon and jabbing a finger into her tomboy twin's chest.

"And if you don't want to be a part of this, I suggest you stay away from him until after tomorrow night! Besides, I figured you'd be relieved at me taking Bensen off your hands, 'dear sister'." Sam cringed at the last two words, but took the whole sentance to heart. Did she really want Melanie dating Fredward? Either way, her sister gave her no time to respond, making her way down the last bit of stairs and through the front lobby, ignoring the screeching sounds Lewbert made at her. "Wish me luck, Sam." She called out as she walked out the doors.

Sam limply waved back, muttering. "I'd rather wish you broke a leg. BOTH OF THEM."

She sighed dejectedly and turned around to walk back up the stairs to Carly's apartment. She reached the door, surprised to find it shut. She wiggled the door knob, seeing if it was unlocked, and threw it open. She didn't need to look long for her friends as she could hear every word they were saying from upstairs. Sam rolled her eyes and took the stairs to the loft two at a time.

"Carly!" She sang as she poked her head into the iCarly studio. Carly and Freddie didn't notice her entrance, however, because they were so wrapped up in their own conversation.

They were standing in the far corner, by the old car sculpture Spencer had made for them. Freddie was leaning against the hood of the car, staring at the ground, while Carly was standing close to him, now talking in a somewhat hushed tone. Both of them were red in the face, and Sam assumed it was from the yelling match she had previously heard. She tried to calm her breathing so she could watch and listen safely from the doorway without being noticed.

"Freddie, what did she ask you?" Carly asked, looking up at Freddie. Freddie slumped his shoulders and tried to hide his smile.

"She asked me out." He mumbled, still staring down at his shoes.

She asked you... You mean, like OUT-asked you out?" Carly's voice hinged on amazement. She knew he was telling the truth, she'd seen the kiss not but five minutes ago. She STILL couldn't believe it, though. "Yeah... I don't know why Sam dressed up as Melanie again... Putting on a show again..." Sam rolled her eyes; it was obvious the boy was still in a daze. Anyone with half a brain could tell the two apart, but only Freddie could be that stubborn. Or stupid, she still couldn't be too sure which was which at the moment.

She wanted me to 'show her a good time', whatever that means... How do you show Sam a good time, take her to an all-you-can-eat buffet?" It took everything Sam had not to growl and sock him one. As much as she wanted to knock sense into the boy, doing so would raise the awkward level to exponential levels. "Well... Uhhh..." Carly was no better at the moment, locked in one of her states of absolute confusion. Fortunately, she noticed Sam's head sticking out the corner of the door. "Why don't you think of some fun ideas, while I go... Uhh, get you some of Spencer's thinking socks!" Sam slapped her forehead as Fredward looked to her in confusion. "He has thinking socks?"

Carly scoffed as she practically ran to the door. "Of course, how else do you think he comes up with those... brilliant sculptures?" It seemed like Freddie took the excuse, not giving it much thought, considering what else happened to have taken up an expanse of his brain. With that, Carly dashed to the door and grabbed Sam by the shoulders. "WHAT DO WE DO!?" She whispered hoarsely into her friend's face, the closest she could get to screaming at Sam without alerting Freddie.

Sam pondered for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Okay, okay, just follow my lead." She turned Carly and pushed her back into the room, following right behind her. Freddie's head popped up at their noisy entrance and the look of confusion was drawn back to his face, for many reasons this time.

"Uh, Carly? I thought you went to get socks?" He asked pointedly, motioning towards her empty hands. Carly inwardly groaned and resisted the urge to slap her forehead.

"Oh, uh, right! He must've taken them to Socko's, there were no socks to be found ANYWHERE!" She lied, hoping he would believe it.

"Oh… okay." He shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal. Carly sighed in relief, but her relief was cut short as he turned his attention on Sam. "Sam, why do you keep changing clothes?" He asked, stepping towards the two girls.

Carly held her breath as she waited for Sam to speak. It didn't take long for her to come up with an excuse, however. "Carly and I were trying out an experiment. She bet me twenty dollars that I couldn't wear something girly for more than ten minutes, and of course I can't back down on a bet. So, I borrowed one of Melanie's outfits." She explained smoothly, not even pausing between words, unlike how Carly had lied.

Freddie took in the lie like it was nothing, proving that he truly was still of the gullable sort. "O~kay, but that doesn't explain why you-!" As Freddie spoke, Sam had closed the gap between the two and much like Melanie had done earlier, grabbed his face to keep the boy silent. Her pointer finger lay along his lips, while the rest of her hand stretched outward to lock his head and keep him focused on her.

"I don't need to explain ANYTHING to you, dipthong." Her voice was serious now; firm and commanding, and the tech could do nothing but respond with a muffled murmur. The look in her eyes was calculating and sultry, a combination one would never really see in Sam too often except in rare circumstances.

"You and I are going out tomorrow. And NOT to some cheesy dork-habitat like a museum or a computer... THING..." Freddie's look turned from scared to confused for a second before the blonde retook command, pulling his head forward so that their foreheads were touching and he could see nothing but her eyes. "You KNOW me. You know what I LIKE. You are going to show Mama a fun time. Or ELSE." She put her head to his side and whispered into his ear. "Do we comprende?" She lifted her finger from his mouth to her him spout off small touches of gibberish in response. "Attaboy." Sam let go of his face, and Freddie fell to the floor like a ragdoll.

With a simple look down and a sigh, she walked away from the puddle of man once known as Fredward, past Carly, and out the door. Carly's own face held the expression that she herself was about to pass out, mouth agape in pure confusion. "...SAM!" Quickly regaining herself, she quickly dashed out the door in attempt to catch up to her friend, leaving her male friend on the floor to regain cognitive thought on his lonesome.

"Sam!" She shouted again as she touched the bottom stair, slightly panting and out of breath. "What was that?" She questioned her blonde friend who was reclined on the couch, her feet on the coffee table as she demolished a drumstick she must've found in the fridge. Sam lazily glanced up from her television program and looked at her friend.

"I just told him like it was." She stated as she brought the drumstick up to her mouth to take a massive bite out of the side of it. Carly could do nothing in response to this but roll her eyes and sit down next to her on the couch.

"Like it was?" Carly was still confused beyond belief as to what had just happened upstairs. After receiving no response from Sam, she continued, desperately trying to make sense of anything, anything at all. "Sam, you just ripped out whatever self-confidence he owned and stomped it into the ground until it became unrecognizable!" She threw her hands up in slight frustration. A smirk crept across Sam's face as she snickered.

"I did do that, didn't I?" She leaned back against the plush of the couch and crossed her arms behind her head. "I really need to stop out doing myself." She stated, mostly to herself instead of Carly. "Now I just have to think that much harder as to what I'm going to do to him tomorrow…" She trailed off in thought. Carly groaned again and put her head in her hands.

**END CHAPTER ONE**


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